By IANS,
Hyderabad : The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has condemned Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that Hyderabad is sitting on a powder keg and has terrorists more dangerous than those in Kashmir and says it will complain to the Election Commission.
MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that Modi’s remarks made at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election rally Monday night were part of a conspiracy to weaken the Muslim leadership here.
“Modi’s aim is to weaken MIM and the Muslim leadership here and so he is trying to link the city with terrorism,” Owaisi told IANS.
He added that he would complain to the Election Commission about Modi’s provocative speech.
“The Muslims in Hyderabad are prosperous and politically aware. Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are the only two states in India which have Muslim parties and Muslim leadership. Kerala was maligned in such a systematic manner that it has become a den of terrorists. Now the image of Hyderabad is also being tarnished,” said Owaisi, who is seeking re-election from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency.
He pointed out that all 16 Muslim youths arrested after the August 2007 twin bomb blasts here in which 50 people were killed were acquitted by the court.
Addressing a public meeting here Monday night, Modi said that Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad were sitting on a powder keg and that terrorist networks here were more dangerous than those in Kashmir.
Modi also said that a link to Hyderabad emerges whenever any terrorist incident occurs in Gujarat, Mumbai and other places in the country.
The state BJP leaders also voiced concern over the growing clout of MIM, which has been winning the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat for 25 years.
They said MIM could also play a key role in government formation in the state in the event of a hung assembly.